The SA clearly saw the issue no doubt about it.
Influencers & VCA
- Thread starter september1985
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I am not siding with the SA but we do not know what actually went on with the client. We only saw a snippet of a video. Maybe if VCA took back her bracelet or exchanged the motif for free it would open up a can of worms and alot of customers would do the same thing. The motif is fine jewelry and delicate - they tell us this when we purchase jewelry. It's NOT indestructible "wurtzite boron nitride". Also not that I am defending the SA in anyway, but maybe the boutique looked at the customer and thought this is a "1 and done" purchase so we are not going to bend over backwards to accomodate. Maybe the customer brought alot of drama to the boutique and ate up alot of time...either way the influencer would never be able to influence me on VCA or any other brand. The brand should post a sign that states - no video recordings permitted in the boutique. The SA did not know she was being filmed, and it may be illegal to video record someone without their permission. Recording without consent can have serious legal implications. There are complexities of privacy laws - if I were the influencer I would remove the video immediately.
Totally agree with all the points here. I donāt think that the VCA manager knew she was an influencer. If the manager knew how many followers she had, maybe this would have been handled differently. Influencers usually get treated differently than normal customers.
Iām pretty sure Monica was on her way to a VCA journey stacking more VCA bracelets as her budget permits. Her last video seemed like a coming clean video to open a path to her buying more VCA pieces. First, she admitted to not removing the bracelet ever since she purchase it. Second, the tarnish is fading or invisible. Two points she didnāt have to mention but she oddly did.
That is an interesting point. I donāt know if VCA could do a defamation case against her and ask her to delete her videos. I doubt it because we all know we could take photos and videos in the VCA store. Most boutiques allow this.
This is a perfect example of clickbaits. But if Monica wanted to be a VCA fan, well this definitely didnāt help because she tarnished the brand with young adults. But it must be nice knowing you have legions of fans who have your back.
Sibylla Mirageā¦ lol. I donāt think she is in the same league as Monica. If anything, she is trying to build her fan base by tagging into Monicaās (hey, look at my account Monica fans!). I kind of lost respect for her after hearing how many luxury item returns she has done to make these YouTube videos. Can you imagine buying what she worn and returned within the 30-day return window?
She also has one video stating her partner bought her the Cartier pave Love necklace if she did a certain act for him. Like.. okayyy. Haha. Not classy.
Yep, if VCA managers were Gen x or older, they would not understand the power of these influencers in generating revenue. Itās like a Google or Yelp review for a business or hairstylist - one stars will hurt the business.
This influencer is doing the most for content it seems...if I were her I'd just pay the fee to get the problematic guilloche replaced and go on with my life. For selfish reason I do hope this fiasco deter some people from this brand so maybe I can get my blue agate pieces sooner 
New update, surpriseā¦ Monica was offered a refund which she accepted. No more VCA for her. Iām sure VCA is relieved.
Besides, VCA has a large $$ clientele outside of social media. With the amount of SO and MTO and waitlists in place, Iām sure the brand is not hurting. Guess this is the way VCA says, āHere is our best offer and good-bye (or buy some more).ā
Iām pretty sure Cartier would have handled this situation differently. But it was sure entertaining. šæ She did amass 2M+ views. Good payday for her.
Besides, VCA has a large $$ clientele outside of social media. With the amount of SO and MTO and waitlists in place, Iām sure the brand is not hurting. Guess this is the way VCA says, āHere is our best offer and good-bye (or buy some more).ā
Iām pretty sure Cartier would have handled this situation differently. But it was sure entertaining. šæ She did amass 2M+ views. Good payday for her.
Wow! Glad they offered her her money back. Something tells me a non influencer in this situation would not have been offered a refund though, which means the rest of us are screwed š
She didnāt really deserve a refund tbh but VCA handled it correctly. She had for 6 months not 2 like she initially claimed. Also she wore 24/7 and I definitely think product got on it.
correct. we have to understand that VCA is first and foremost a high jewelry company. it literally says on their brand name. even if this influencer "influences" a couple of hundred or even a few thousand potential fine jewelry customers to avoid VCA, the loss of potential earnings is minuscule compared to the padding built into the price of their high jewelry pieces (so called "brand premium" or "heritage luxury markup"). they could easily make up for it by selling 2-3 high jewelry necklaces. and that's just, what, 2-3 random women in Dubai. lol
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I respectfully disagree here. Bringing up the managers age is kind of insulting to the manager of VCA. There is NO ONE left on earth that does not understand the power of social media. Had the managers known they were being filmed Iām sure they would not have consented. The influencer had no right to do so she violated their privacy rights. And the influencer changed her story on the amount of time she owned and wore the bracelet. The entire situation with this influencer turns me off. Especially since the tarnish is gone. All of this drama for a nothingburger.
Yesā¦legions of fansā¦with zero purchasing power.
No worriesā¦ unfortunately some of the older generation have no idea what an influencer is or does. (I know, Iām surrounded by some.) I think if they knew about this situation, they would know it is a force to be reckoned with. Just like this VCA manager who was being filmed. Is it illegal? Perhaps, like you said ..she didnāt get her permission to film her - at least to our knowledge, but Monica did blur out her face. That is up to VCA corp to figure out. They usually send a letter at some point. But some damage has been done esp to vcaās social media account.
I will say it is disappointing that the manager gaslighted her - pretending the tarnish wasnāt there. Most of the VCA SAs I know would just say it is oxidation and itās normal. Esp with the hammered pieces - those donāt tarnish evenly either. Just some gentle polishing cream and an extra soft brush does the trick. š unfortunately, she wasnāt given any guidance.
But she did amass 3 million plus views! So nice paycheck for her. She doesnāt need any guidance from anyone. Lol. I and perhaps her fans would be surprised if she purchased a VCA pave piece from another boutique. They are pretty hard to resist.
I do find it interesting that the VCA seems to have quoted me by saying āsomething must have unfortunately landed on that motifā in their Instagram account. Itās like the VCA corp heads read tpf forum. lol
heres the thing with us older folks. we tend to see the bigger picture with the influencer posts. they film and post a small portion of a video and small portion of a voice message that are beneficial to the point they are trying to make. you can portray anything you want on social media and thus we will never know the entire story.
this behavior is reckless because the angry mob of followers were ready to pounce. not just in the VCA ig comments, but many reached out to that store and their own SA to ask how it was going to get resolved for Monica. this was a group effort.